NOVEL NEXT Chapter 447: Flower and Sap?
[Material Name: Verdant Veil Lily]
[Material Description: It was said that eons ago, this precious species of flower was born from the tears of the Flower God, who watched her beloved champions—the Three Sky Sisters—fall in battle after being afflicted with a dreadful sickness of corruption. Heartbroken, she then turned to the Jungle God for comfort and a solution.]
After tossing that into her spatial ring, Lillian nodded to herself. These types of flowers were rare to come by, only available in places with high mana concentration or jungles with relations to the Jungle God.
It was also a type of flower that blooms once every night, which, unless cut from its stem, would become dormant again.
It was...
It was also a key ingredient for a type of medicine she needed to try to concoct.
Since leaving the arena, she had already come across 4 of these Verdant Veil Lilies with the help of the Jungle Lord, but she still needed more...
Fortunately...
She had some outside help.
Shake... Shake...
Looking off to the side and past the dense trees, she watched as the green shrubberies began to shudder as something began to move through them.
Soon enough, something or... A group of something emerged from behind the trees and bushes.
They were petite and wore stone and wooden masks with engravings on them, while also having attire made entirely out of either vines or leather and hide from monsters.
They had dark green skin, black nails, and an impression that someone from Lillian's old world would get from them that would describe Goblin.
Luckily, they weren't those kinds of creatures... Well, kind of.
Instead, they were a variant of a species named Moss Goblins, monsters that she had fought previously, albeit in a simulated world, back on her second day during the Academy.
These variants were named Jungle Dwellers, the followers and supporters of the Jungle God, but also helpers of every generation of Jungle Lords.
And...
Using their help...
"Thank you very much~..."
She had managed to gather the ingredients in the jungle in less time.
Having taken the gathered flowers from their hands, which they retrieved from their leather pouches hanging by a vine belt around their waist, they also pulled out another item.
It was five separate clay bottles, which seemed to be filled to the brim with a viscous and black sticky liquid.
What they had brought to Lillian was called Nightglass Sap.
==
[Item Name: Simple Clay Bottle]
[Item Description: A simple clay bottle crafted by the hands of a talented pot maker in the Hrugen tribe, which prays to the Jungle God. Inside this is filled with a viscous substance known as Nightglass Sap, which is notoriously known to bring irritated monsters of the dark comfort and rest.]
==
The Nightglass Sap had a glassy appearance to it, but it was difficult to see during the night due to the lack of light.
The sap would act as an agent to bind the Verdant Veil Lily together with the other ingredients she needed to find along her journey around the island.
After tossing those back into her spatial storage, both she and the Jungle Lord bid the small group farewell before journeying out of the Heart of the Jungle.
She still needed two more ingredients from the Beach part of the island and the cliffside.
Fortunately... The latter was going to be her destination, for if she had remembered correctly, Captain Righthook might've already found the Temple of the Cliff God.
'The Three Lords...'
Lillian thought back to an hour or so ago, when her group had asked her about it.
***
After the four of them had found their sticks, Viesta looked towards Lillian, who was sitting on a log and asked:
"So... I heard you call that monster earlier a... Jungle Lord? Is that actually what its name was?"
Lillian stabbed her stick through a marshmallow offered by Emilio and shifted her attention between the soft treat and the woman.
"Uh, huh. The Jungle Lord, otherwise known as one of the three Lords on this island..." Lillian then stiffened before glancing towards Viesta, "Oh wait, you still don't know about this island yet, do you?"
Viesta, who was doing the same thing as Lillian, froze as her ears twitched at the last part of Lillian's sentence.
"Wait! Do you know about this island?" The Cowgirl asked, standing up instantly and rapidly approaching Lillian, who immediately shuffled away from the woman.
Lillian slowly held up her hands with a crooked smile, "I just remembered where we are just this morning..."
"S-seriously...?" Viesta asked with a stupefied expression as she slowly settled down beside Lillian.
Emilio and Jon—who overheard the two ladies' conversation—leaned in a bit eagerly, causing Lillian, who was the centre of the three's attention, to giggle nervously.
After taking in a deep breath, Lillian began to inform them on what she knew:
"The island we're currently stuck on is known as the Three Temple Island, which got its name from the having exactly three temples built on it across the entire island."
Gesturing towards the Jungle Temple behind her, Lillian continued:
"This was one of those temples, more specifically, the Temple of the Jungle God, which he first built when he was starting out as a God. And that thing I just killed was known as a Jungle Lord, otherwise known as the guardian of the temple and, of course, this entire particular jungle. But mainly just the temple, though."
Lillian then held up three fingers, her index, her middle, and her ring fingers.
"Since each temple had a Lord of their own, totalling up to three, we need to take them all out and reach the top of their temples to slot in a glowing gem."
Viesta, confused about the last part of Lillian's sentence, asked:
"Huh? We need a glowing gem? But why? And are they all specific to each temple?"
"They all have to be specific to each temple. As for the reason why..." Lillian paused for a moment, wondering about how to put together her words, "I believe... It's needed to finish this Trial."
Emilio, hearing the end of Lillian's sentence, immediately raised his hands at that.
"W-wait... Are you telling me that just killing these... Lords, right? Aren't enough to get us out?!"
He then clutched the side of his head with a concerned and stressed expression as he recalled Lillian's battle earlier, "If... Alright, so if I go off of their titles as Lords, they are around each others strength, right?"
"More or less." Lillian responded.
"Okay... So, if these Lords aren't even the Final Boss of this Trial, then what is!? And about those gems, where do we even get those?!" Emilio yelled in confusion before sighing in a frustrated tone:
"Those Lords are already powerful enough to act as Final Bosses in other Trials... What type of Trial did you get us into, Miss Lillian...? And do you remember the rank for the Gate?"
Lillian gave a small smile as she said casually:
"B-rank."
Her words caused everyone around her to freeze in pure shock and horror as they slowly turned to her, watching as the girl fetched another marshmallow and roasted it.
Lillian, noticing their gazes, looked at their marshmallows and said:
"Your guyses marshmallows are dripping."
Realising what she said, everyone immediately turned to the marshmallows on their stick and saw that Lillian was right!
"AH! My marshmallow!" Emilio shouted in horror as his marshmallow had developed a blackened shell around it.
Lillian, seeing as everyone quickly ate their marshmallows, couldn't help but laugh a little as she drew in their attention again.
She then held up four fingers before lowering one of them.
"Emilio, Viesta, I'm sure you have already remembered about my plan to complete this Trial in four days, right?"
Watching as the two nod slightly, Lillian smirked and lowered one finger.
"Just three days... Watch me. Every single one of us will make it out of this Trial alive, I'll make sure of it, so put your trust in me. Because if I let any one of you die... That'll be the same as me dying."